Battery explosion?

My buddy at work has a Kyocera (not a flip phone) that he took to the
local store today asking about replacing an eight month old battery
due to the battery not holding a charge. The technical guy immediately
accused my buddy of dropping the phone then stated the battery had
swollen from heat (such as in a car) and said it was a "wonder it
didn't explode." This sounds like BS to me. The phone's battery cover
shows a slight gap on one side and the battery itself has a slight
bulge across one end but it does not look abnormal. The battery seams
are still sealed without any gaps. I very much doubt this phone was
abused or left in the heat. My buddy was told that a new battery
would cost him $45.00 because the "damage" was "customer abuse." In
short, they refused to replace the battery. The phone is still under
warranty but I'm thinking that would not include the battery, right?

Can these batteries explode?
How susceptible are the batteries to swelling?
Where is a good online source for cell batteries?

Yes batteries can explode and there was a recall for either some Kyocera
phones or their batteries. You or your friend should do some research on
Google and see what you come up with... Your friend may be entitled to a
free battery if there is actually a recall.

Rob
Q: "What did the redneck say right before he died?"
A: "Hey ya'all watch this!!"

"Drumstick" <ryburk@no.spam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b32ff4553988da698973d@newsgroups.bellsouth.net...
> My buddy at work has a Kyocera (not a flip phone) that he took to the
> local store today asking about replacing an eight month old battery
> due to the battery not holding a charge. The technical guy immediately
> accused my buddy of dropping the phone then stated the battery had
> swollen from heat (such as in a car) and said it was a "wonder it
> didn't explode." This sounds like BS to me. The phone's battery cover
> shows a slight gap on one side and the battery itself has a slight
> bulge across one end but it does not look abnormal. The battery seams
> are still sealed without any gaps. I very much doubt this phone was
> abused or left in the heat. My buddy was told that a new battery
> would cost him $45.00 because the "damage" was "customer abuse." In
> short, they refused to replace the battery. The phone is still under
> warranty but I'm thinking that would not include the battery, right?
>
> Can these batteries explode?
> How susceptible are the batteries to swelling?
> Where is a good online source for cell batteries?
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
>
> --
>
> Drum-

Drumstick <ryburk@no.spam.yahoo.com> wrote:
> My buddy at work has a Kyocera (not a flip phone) that he took to the
> local store today asking about replacing an eight month old battery
> due to the battery not holding a charge. The technical guy immediately
> accused my buddy of dropping the phone then stated the battery had
> swollen from heat (such as in a car) and said it was a "wonder it
> didn't explode." This sounds like BS to me. The phone's battery cover
> shows a slight gap on one side and the battery itself has a slight
> bulge across one end but it does not look abnormal. The battery seams
> are still sealed without any gaps. I very much doubt this phone was
> abused or left in the heat. My buddy was told that a new battery
> would cost him $45.00 because the "damage" was "customer abuse." In
> short, they refused to replace the battery. The phone is still under
> warranty but I'm thinking that would not include the battery, right?

No. The guy at the store may have been full of crap, but batteries typically
only last 9-12 months anyhow. And they are not covered under warranty, just
like tires and oil and other things that are regular maintenance items are
not covered by an automotive warranty.
> Can these batteries explode?

Robert R Kircher, Jr. <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Yes batteries can explode and there was a recall for either some Kyocera
> phones or their batteries. You or your friend should do some research on
> Google and see what you come up with... Your friend may be entitled to a
> free battery if there is actually a recall.

Steven J Sobol wrote:
> Robert R Kircher, Jr. <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Yes batteries can explode and there was a recall for either some
>> Kyocera phones or their batteries. You or your friend should do
>> some research on Google and see what you come up with... Your
>> friend may be entitled to a free battery if there is actually a
>> recall.
>
> There was a recall on the 7135. I don't remember what it was for.

The 7135 recall was for the battery. 1 particular rev of the battery.
I believe it was the revision that ended in -05. For example my battery
is CV90-K2002-03 (found on the back of the battery). There were
I think 4 or 5 reported cases of these batteries exploding. I believe
worst case was one fellow who had the phone in his pants pocket and
suffered minor burns? They were all manufactured by a particular
(former) subcontractor for Kyocera. The creativity award should go
to the guy who drafted the recall notice "...have experienced rapid
disassembly".
Priceless.

No. Your battery should never bulge and certainly not to the extent
that the seams come apart. I would call Kyocera support. I imagine
that they will be very accomodating since they are probably still a
bit sensitive about the recall.

Damn Steven, how do you manage that? My 3035 stays on pretty much
24/7, and throughout all the 3035's I've had over the past two years,
they've all used the same battery. And the original battery on my
QCP-820, which is almost 6 years old, was still holding a charge just
fine until my son lost it last month.

The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:
> On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 11:39:08 -0500, Steven J Sobol
> <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>
>>but batteries typically
>>only last 9-12 months anyhow.
>
> Damn Steven, how do you manage that? My 3035 stays on pretty much
> 24/7, and throughout all the 3035's I've had over the past two years,
> they've all used the same battery. And the original battery on my
> QCP-820, which is almost 6 years old, was still holding a charge just
> fine until my son lost it last month.

So you never talk on your phone, then? 9-12 may be a low estimate. I know
my NiMH batteries only lasted 9 months. My Li-Ion batteries have been much
better, but I still don't expect them to last much longer than a year or so.

On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 14:13:45 -0500, Steven J Sobol
<sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>So you never talk on your phone, then? 9-12 may be a low estimate. I know
>my NiMH batteries only lasted 9 months. My Li-Ion batteries have been much
>better, but I still don't expect them to last much longer than a year or so.

The Li-Ions are much better than the NiMH. I usually use between
300-350 of my peak minutes each month, and have run as high as 1,200
N&W minutes in a month. I also never let it run down very much. If
I'm home or in the car, it's usually plugged into a charger.

BTW, did I read in another thread here that Alltel will activate a VZW
phone? I'm thinking of going to Alltel (mainly because they carry
Kyocera phones), and would like to use my 3035 for a second line or as
a spare.

On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 14:13:45 -0500, Steven J Sobol
<sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>So you never talk on your phone, then? 9-12 may be a low estimate. I know
>my NiMH batteries only lasted 9 months. My Li-Ion batteries have been much
>better, but I still don't expect them to last much longer than a year or so.

The Li-Ions are much better than the NiMH. I usually use between
300-350 of my peak minutes each month, and have run as high as 1,200
N&W minutes in a month. I also never let it run down very much. If
I'm home or in the car, it's usually plugged into a charger.

BTW, did I read in another thread here that Alltel will activate a VZW
phone? I'm thinking of going to Alltel (mainly because they carry
Kyocera phones), and would like to use my 3035 for a second line or as
a spare.

The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:
> BTW, did I read in another thread here that Alltel will activate a VZW
> phone? I'm thinking of going to Alltel (mainly because they carry
> Kyocera phones), and would like to use my 3035 for a second line or as
> a spare.

I believe they will. You'd have to check regarding specific phone models.

On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 22:54:55 -0500, Steven J Sobol
<sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:
>
>> BTW, did I read in another thread here that Alltel will activate a VZW
>> phone? I'm thinking of going to Alltel (mainly because they carry
>> Kyocera phones), and would like to use my 3035 for a second line or as
>> a spare.
>
>I believe they will. You'd have to check regarding specific phone models.

I had an Alltel store rep tell me the other day that they wouldn't,
citing, "Verizon phones won't even talk to our towers."

I found that to be quite interesting, since Alltel is one of their
roaming partners, right? Me thinks he just wanted to sell a new
phone.

The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:
>>I believe they will. You'd have to check regarding specific phone models.
>
> I had an Alltel store rep tell me the other day that they wouldn't,
> citing, "Verizon phones won't even talk to our towers."
>
> I found that to be quite interesting, since Alltel is one of their
> roaming partners, right? Me thinks he just wanted to sell a new
> phone.

Yes. My Verizon phone roamed on Alltel (Extended Network), driving through
Oklahoma... well, maybe Oklahoma was Sprint PCS, but Arkansas was definitely
Alltel, when I moved last year.